Cairns was a brutal batsman who could hit big sixes straight down the ground when on song and in his earlier days was an intelligent fast-medium bowler. Since then, persistent injuries have forced him to drop his pace and rely more on his hard-to-read slower ball. With the ball, Cairns' finest performance was 7/27 against the West Indies in a Test in 1998, and he is New Zealand's third highest wicket taker in Tests, after Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori. The New Zealand Herald journalist, Richard Boock said this about Cairns - Cairns also played for Northland in the Hawke Cup.